Corruption will be dealt with iron hand: CM
Dehradun, April 22
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today said that the Congress government in Uttarakhand will not compromise on corruption and would deal with the menace with an iron hand.Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna being felicitated at a function at Congress Bhavan
in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

DM for suspension of Irrigation Dept's XEN
Haridwar, April 22
Though it's a few months to go before the rainy season arrives, Haridwar District Magistrate D Senthyl Pendiyan is taking no stone unturned to make sure that all preparations are done well in advance so that minimum impact of monsoon havoc is felt.Haridwar DM D Senthyl Pendiyan and Joint Magistrate Jyoti Yadav at a meeting of MC officials in Haridwar
on Sunday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Awareness march on Earth Day
Haridwar, April 22
Under the aegis of the National Service Scheme, the Sparsh Ganga Board and the state government, a mass awareness drive-cum-march was organised on World Earth Day today. A large number of schoolchildren participated in the march.

Students take out an awareness march on World Earth Day in Haridwar on Sunday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Stress on need to develop adventure, rural tourism
Mussoorie, April 22
The concluding day of the two-day workshop organised under the aegis of the Uttarakhand Tourism in association with the Indian Association of Tour Operators
(IATO) held in Mussoorie saw frantic discussions on ways to promote and adventure and rural tourism in the state.Union Tourism Secretary RH Khwaja at a workshop in
Mussoorie.

Woodstock School lift basketball trophy
Mussoorie, April 22
Host team Woodstock School emerged victorious consecutively for the second year in the 12th Win Mumby All-India Basketball Tournament held in Mussoorie by defeating Welham Boys’ School 47-42 in a closely contested final yesterday.

A match in basketball tournament under way in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Send proposals for flood-control measures: CM
Nainital, April 22
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has ordered officials in Udham Singh Nagar district to send proposals for flood-control measures within a fortnight, so that a sum of Rs 3 crore can be availed from the Centre for the purpose.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna at a meeting in Rudrapur on Saturday.

Call to draw up plans for benefit of SCs, STs
Nainital, April 22
Chairperson of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) Commission in the state Chanar Ram has called for drawing up of concrete plans under the Special Component Plan (SCP) for the benefit of the marginalised sections of the society.

Need to streamline functioning of taxis: Police
Nainital, April 22
The incident of an unsuccessful attempt by miscreants at robbing a driver of his taxi has once again brought to the fore the issue of streamlining the functioning of taxis in the region.

INTUC to enrol 1 crore members
Dehradun, April 22
Indian National Trade Union Congress national president Ambati Krishnamurthy today said INTUC had pledged to induct 1 crore unorganised sector workers as its members. Addressing a press conference in Dehradun today, Ambati Krishnamurthy said INTUC had always remained in the forefront in struggling for the rights of workers from the unorganised sector.

MKP Inter-College, St. Agnes winners
Dehradun, April 22
MKP Inter-College and St. Agnes emerged winners on the first day of Welham Girls' School Invitational Hockey Tournament being held on the Welham Girls' School grounds.

A match in progress in the second Welham Girls' School Invitational Hockey Tournament in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun, April 22
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today said that the Congress government in Uttarakhand will not compromise on corruption and would deal with the menace with an iron hand.

Addressing party workers at Congress Bhavan, Dehradun, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said his government was taking the problem of corruption with all seriousness and has issued necessary directions to ensure a check on it. He said that he would not shy from taking prompt disciplinary action against officers even in a small case of corruption.

Referring to growing power requirements in the state, Vijay Bahuguna said while the state has already entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Centre for purchasing power, the state government further intends to purchase 100 MW power shortly to make up for the state's power requirements.

Bahuguna also disclosed that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has accepted his plea to increase the Above Poverty Line foodgrain quota for Uttarakhand. He also held that Sonia Gandhi has expressed her happiness over the working of the Uttarakhand Congress government.

Expressing gratitude to the Congress workers, Bahuguna said that despite all odds, party workers have managed to ensure that Congress government came to the power in the state.

Uttarakhand Congress president and Irrigation Minister Yashpal Arya said it will be priority of the Congress government in Uttarakhand to work for betterment of Dalits and minorities. He said the government was also working on curbing rising unemployment in the state. While avoiding a direct comment of prevailing factionalism in Uttarakhand Congress, Yashpal Arya admitted that factionalism did affect Congress electoral prospects in the recently concluded Assembly elections as the party could have easily won as many as 45 Assembly seats in Uttarakhand.

Earlier, Vijay Saraswat, general secretary, Uttarakhand Congress, welcomed both the Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and Irrigation Minister Yashpal Arya at Congress Bhawan. Members of Muslim, Dalit and Sikh communities in particular honoured both the Chief Minister and the Irrigation Minister.

Interestingly, all the 5 Lok Sabha MPs did not turn up at the
programme.

Haridwar, April 22
Though it's a few months to go before the rainy season arrives, Haridwar District Magistrate D Senthyl Pendiyan is taking no stone unturned to make sure that all preparations are done well in advance so that minimum impact of monsoon havoc is felt.

The DM has given May 31 as the deadline prior to which all monsoon-related works and projects get completed otherwise he will have to take action against the officials concerned.

After inspecting various flood-prone sites in the district, Pendiyan is also holding regular meetings with the department officials. He has even written for suspension of Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department DD Dalakoti after finding laxity on his party of duty.

Dalakoti has been found of not taking seriously orders from the District Magistrate related to flood control and several projects which could not materialise and the funds lapsed due to laxity from the department.

Pendiyan has also mooted a proposal to bifurcate the city into 16 sectors with the appointment of sector magistrates to look into the cleanliness and sanitation drive in this city. These sector magistrates will directly report to the Municipal Corporation and will also inform the District Magistrate in case filth, garbage or choked drains are not clean in time.

Joint Magistrate Jyoti Yadav also gave her inputs regarding the cleanliness and sanitation of the city, particularly in view of the upcoming Char Dham yatra pilgrimage and tourist summer season.

Haridwar, April 22
After giving Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna some tough moments, Union Minister for Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs and Haridwar MP Harish Rawat has been leaving no occasion to express his
resentment.

Harish Rawat was attending a meeting of party workers and also listening to the problems of the public, where his supporters tried to label him as real Chief Minister of the state. Though he refrained from comment directly on his feud with
Bahuguna, Harish Rawat made it clear that whatever the decision the party high command took mattered to him but the aspirations of the voters should also be
considered.

Harish Rawat urged them to focus on the 2014 parliamentary elections as public had given them mandate in the state Assembly and though they did not get due reward for their service (hinting at him for not being appointed as Chief Minister), they need to focus with more vigour in their respective areas.

Some party workers were seen raising slogans in favour of Harish Rawat as people's Chief Minister, Rawat just smiled and urged them not to do so.

Meanwhile, district party chief Chaudhary Rajednra Singh, city chief OP Chauhan and losing party candidate from Haridwar city Assembly segment Satpal Brahamchari also met Harish Rawat and apprised him of the notice served on them by the party disciplinary committee headed by Narendra Singh
Bhandari.

OP Chauhan told TNS that he would give explanation to the notice in front of the disciplinary committee only, citing that he was present at Damkoti guest house when Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna met party workers. Though he along with other two was absent at felicitation function at Jai Ram ashram organised by Pradesh Congress committee treasurer Braham Swaroop
Brahamchari.

While secretary of the disciplinary committee Dhirendra Pratap said the matter was more to do so with the anti-party slogans that were raised at the Gurukul Kangri University helipad when Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had arrived.

It's pertinent to mention here that when security officials of the CM stopped Congress leaders, including Satpal Brahamchari and others, their supporters raised slogans against
Bahuguna, which had not gone down well with the party high command.

Dehradun, April 22
The 23-day-long agitation of HNB Garhwal University employees and students has finally come to an end.

The end came today after marathon talks were held between the agitating employees and the university authorities. Sources reveal that the university authorities have accepted to look into the 23-point charter of demands raised by the employees.

The agitated employees held that they had postponed the agitation for 2 months and were hopeful that university authorities will keep up their promise. Teaching, non-teaching staff and the students are alleging large-scale irregularities in the appointment process for the post of Public Relation Officer and other non-teaching posts in the university.

Haridwar, April 22
Under the aegis of the National Service Scheme, the Sparsh Ganga Board and the state government, a mass awareness drive-cum-march was organised on World Earth Day today. A large number of schoolchildren participated in the march.

The march was flagged off by Red Cross Society secretary Naresh Chaudhari from Devpura chowk. And after passing through various area of the city, the march culminated at Vishwakarma ghat. Holding placards, students students raised slogans related to Earth Day.

Earlier, addressing the participating students, Chaudhari said environment pollution was fast degrading our natural resources and flora and fauna and there was need to protect them. He urged students to spread this message to all sections of society.

"Though it was not mandatory for students to attend the march, we are happy at a huge turnout. Students are keen on generating awareness and cleaning Ganga ghats," said Sunita Devi, a school teacher.

MUSSOORIE: A poster-making competition was organised at Government Inter-college, Ghorakhori, in the Jaunpur block of Tehri Garhwal to mark World Earth Day today. More than 50 students participated in the competition. Through posters, students highlighted the need to save the fragile biodiversity.

Haridwar, April 22
A five-day workshop on ‘marma chikitsa’ began at Shriyantra temple at Kankhal today.

It is being jointly organised by the World Welfare Trust, Shri Mandir, and the Mritunjay Mission Vedic Ayurvigyan Institute. Students of Gurukul Ayurvedic College, Rishikul Ayurvedic College and Patanjali Ayurvedic College are being given training in marma chikitsa which deals with 107 sensitive points in a human body.

Dr Sunil Kumar Joshi, a marma expert, said that there were 107 marma points in a body that are pressed in various modes for different ailments in a stipulated period of time.

He said marma art needed a higher degree of practise, concentration, dedication and good knowledge of human body.

Prof Mahavir Aggarwal said this art was started by Maha Rishi Sushurut and this therapy cure people for all ailments without any side effect.

On the occasion, literati Dr Vishnu Dutt Rakesh launched the Hindi version of ‘Marma Vigyan va Chikitsa’ written by Dr Sunil Kumar Joshi.

Bahuguna said the Peshawar incident was a turning point in the independence struggle of the country. He said Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali, who refused to follow the British order of gunning down Pathans in Peshwar, had to undergo long rigorous sentence.

Vijay Bahuguna will be attending a programme in memory of Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali tomorrow at Peetsain in Pauri Garhwal.

Dehradun, April 22
The Uttarakhand Parivartan Party has expressed concern over the rising political opportunism in Uttarakhand politics.

Addressing the inaugural session of the third convention of the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party in Dehradun,

president of the party PC Tiwari said political parties in Uttarakhand were following the politics of rampant opportunism. He said while the BJP and the Congress had always acted as opportunists in Uttarakhand and even the regional force, the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, had now joined the same league.

Referring to the incumbent Congress government in the state, Tiwari said the Uttarakhand government had the support of the BSP, the UKD and independent MLAs, who all had joined the government through only for political posts. “This has further deteriorated politics in Uttarakhand and has shattered the dreams of state agitationists”, he said.

Addressing one of the sessions, District Dehradun Uttarakhand Parivartan Party president Kuldeep Madhval said the party support base among the people was expanding at a rapid pace. He disclosed that the convention was being attended by party workers from all 13 districts of the state.

Mussoorie, April 22
The concluding day of the two-day workshop organised under the aegis of the Uttarakhand Tourism in association with the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) held in Mussoorie saw frantic discussions on ways to promote and adventure and rural tourism in the state.

The session began with a discussion of formulating a business plan for promoting rural and adventure tourism in the state where the chairman of the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) Dr Anil Joshi highlighted the need to correlate the adventure tourism with the local aspirations and include the local community so that they could also reap the benefits of tourism.

Anil Joshi also stressed on the need to safeguard the fragile environemt of the Himalayas while carrying out the adventure tourism.

Social worker Jot Singh Bisht stating further said it was sad that tour operators from Gujarat and elsewhere were bringing the ration along with them that was directly hurting the livelihood of the local people. Therefore, it was imperative to involve the local population in all activites related to tourism so that they could earn their living from tourism.

He also highlighted the fact that the skills of the local community should be developed in such a way that they also feel the part of any tourism activity, be it rural or adventure tourism. He also said the tour operators should also be sensitive towards local customs, traditions and practices and respect them while carrying out any adventure tourism activity.

The other panelists, MD of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam KP Sharma, NGO operator Farooq Ahmed, also highlighted the fact that the government should pay more attention towards the tourism sector as it could become major revenue earner for the state.

SS Sandhu, Secrtary, Tourism, informed the audience that the state was considering major sea change in its policy and was considering to promote rural and adventure tourism in a big way and for that, cooperation from all sectors was being felt.

He also said the government was also planning to develop many new hill stations and a Mussoorie circuit was also being planned with the financial assistance of the Asian Devevlopment Bank so that the lesser known destinations such as Tehri Dam, Lakhamandal etc are also linked with any tourism activity. The speakers also highlighted the need of linking the adventure and rural tourism with local community.

Ragini Singh from the World Wildlife Fund and in charge of the Green Hiker Programme laid stress on responsible tourism and said the plastic garbage in various religious centres in the state was a cause for concern and the tourists should be educated or provided incentives to assist in garbage reduction plans and effective solid waste management. The special invitee on the occasion, eminent film personality, Deepti Naval said her immense love for the mountains came from the regular trekking activity she used to participate since childhood and said hearing the speakers was an educating experience for her.

The senior vice-president of the IATO Mandeep Singh Soin later speaking to the media said the objective of the seminar was to promote rural and adventure tourism in such a way that the there was minimal impact on environment.

He also said the revenue received from the tourism sector should percolate down to the person involved in tourism activity at the grassroots level.

He also said they were also interacting with the state government to improve the basic structure so that the tourists visiting the state were completely satisfied.

Deputy Director, Uttarakhand, Tourism, AK Singh said the inputs received from the workshop here would be documented and the final report be submitted to the government in order to make changes according to the valuable recommendations aired here.

Earlier, a workshop entitled 'Hunar se rozgaar' on adventure and rural tourism was held yesterday where the emphasis was laid on developing rural and adventure tourism with a focus on employment generation aspect of tourism.

Secretary, Government of India, RH Khwaja, in his inaugural address said that it was not possible to develop adventure tourism everywhere but as more than 60 per cent people resided in villages, rural tourism could become a major source of generating revenue and employment, provided it is done in a planned manner.

RH Khwaja, elaborating further, said that statistics on tourism reveal that "we have neglected employment generation capabilities in service sector, especially tourism."

Mussoorie, April 22
Host team Woodstock School emerged victorious consecutively for the second year in the 12th Win Mumby All-India Basketball Tournament held in Mussoorie by defeating Welham Boys’ School 47-42 in a closely contested final yesterday.

Both teams fought for every point till the end but Woodstock School, through the outstanding performance by Zach Vignali and Captain Matthew Salo, the top scorers, won by a margin of five points and was declared winners. Salo also picked up the most valuable player award for the competition.

In the other final match in girls section, Delhi Modern School won the tournament by defeating Welham Girls' School by 66-37.Madhu emerged as the star for the Delhi Modern School and was declared as the most valuable player of the tournament.

Finals on Saturday saw the crowd of 500 entertained by the Woodstock School jazz band, Woodstock’s Japanese taiko drumming group, a half-time rock show and a yak dance performed by students from Tibetan Homes School.Closing the tournament, Woodstock principal Dr Jonathan Long said the competition had seen “a lot of speed, stamina and skill, and every emotion from elation to undiluted disappointment".

“It has been a magnificent event and the whole has been greater than the sum of its parts, and every team contributed to make it a wonderful experience” added Dr Long. The competition was organised by Woodstock head of sports Ajay Mark.

A total of 17 teams from 13 different schools, nine boys and eight girls teams, participated in the tournament which took place in Woodstock’s School’s state-of-the-art Win Mumby gym.

Nainital, April 22
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has ordered officials in Udham Singh Nagar district to send proposals for flood-control measures within a fortnight, so that a sum of Rs 3 crore can be availed from the Centre for the purpose.

During his visit to Rudrapur, Bahuguna met the top officials in the district. He laid emphasis on checking the loss to life and infrastructure caused by rivers like Phika, Dhaila, Levada, Kosi, Praveen and Devahi annually. The rivers also wash away large tracts of fertile land when they flood the plains of the Terai region every year during the monsoon.

Addressing the concerns aired on wheat procurement, Bahuguna said the year is seeing a bumper production and the Central Government had announced a good support price for the crop. He ordered District Magistrate Brijesh Sant to personally supervise the functioning of the procurement centres and underlined that the harassment of farmers would not be tolerated. He promised that the farmers would be paid for every grain produced by them and claimed that there is no paucity of funds for the purpose.

Bahuguna also took stock of the condition of roads in the district which is agriculturally and industrially on the top of the map in the state. Stating that good roads are the backbone of development, the Chief Minister said the government had aimed at a target of constructing 120 km of roads in the district and asked officials of the PWD to complete a survey of the proposed roads and submit a report to the administration so that funds can be allocated for the execution of the projects.

Stating that the government is committed to all-round development of the state, Bahuguna warned the officials that laxity would not be tolerated on their part and they should ensure that the proposed works become a reality at the grassroots level.

Revenue Minister Yashpal Arya raised the issue of bad condition of roads in his constituency of Bazpur. He asked the officials to pay particular attention towards improving the roads in the area.

Senior Congress leader and Jaspur legislator Shailendra Mohan Singhal drew the attention of the Chief Minister towards the shortage of bags for the transportation of wheat products. He also raised the issue of pending payments of Rs 100 crore that is to be made to sugarcane producers.

Singhal also took up the issue of tubewells going dry and called for setting up new ones to address the needs to the people.

The legislator from Rudrapur raised the issue of traffic snarls in the town and demanded that a bypass be made from Chhatarpur to decongest the traffic in the town.

Nainital, April 22
Chairperson of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) Commission in the state Chanar Ram has called for drawing up of concrete plans under the Special Component Plan (SCP) for the benefit of the marginalised sections of the society.

Speaking at a review meeting in Champawat on Saturday, he ordered that the disabled should be identified in the remote areas of the district and they be provided pension benefits after being certified.

Panchayat Development Officers had been asked to identify the disabled during their field visits and help the latter to attend the disability camps so that they could be given disability certificates.

Chanar Ram pointed out that the officials must ensure proper implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) and the Right to Education (RTE) along with the citizen's service charter.

Reviewing the performance under the SCP in the district, Chanar Ram expressed his displeasure over the fact that the administration had been unable to spend 19 per cent of the funds made available under the scheme.

He asked the officials to adhere to the directions of the administration and ensure that the schemes meant for the betterment of the SCs and STs must be completed in time.

Social Welfare Officer BL Arya gave details of the benefits extended to various categories of beneficiaries in the district.

A senior police official related that till date, 28 cases of atrocities against the SCs and STs had come to light since 2000 and all of them had been disposed of. A compensation had been made available in 13 of these cases.

Chanar Ram said Narsinghdada, Uchauligoth, Fagpur, Ghurchum, Dudhauri and Siladi were villages dominated by SCs and STs for which special plans were prepared.

Nainital, April 22
The incident of an unsuccessful attempt by miscreants at robbing a driver of his taxi has once again brought to the fore the issue of streamlining the functioning of taxis in the region.

The incident of four persons opening fire on a taxi driver near Nayna village here on Friday and trying to flee with his vehicle is not the first of its kind. Police sources say it was just in time that they managed to erect barricades at Kathgodam and Haldwani that led to the arrest of the accused after the car overturned.

Police officials said the taxi operators needed to streamline their functioning. The drivers should not be allowed to pick up customers at random. Instead the customers must approach the office of the operators and take a vehicle only after submitting an identity proof. They said CCTV cameras be installed at taxi stands at Bhotia Padav.

A police official said: "There are over 1,000 taxis in Haldwani and 500 in Nainital that are moving between the two destinations. The number goes quite high if we also include the taxis coming from places like Almora, Ranikhet and Bageshwar to Haldwani on a daily basis. The taxi owners must come forward in setting up a system for the safety of their vehicles and themselves."

In September last year, a taxi owner from Haldwani, who had gone missing, was found murdered in Tanda. The body of 26-year-old Shahnawaz, alias Lallu, was found in the Sanjay Van area of Tanda Forest. In October, one Mahesh Singh Bisht had been murdered in Najibabad in a similar manner.

Dehradun, April 22
Indian National Trade Union Congress national president Ambati Krishnamurthy today said INTUC had pledged to induct 1 crore unorganised sector workers as its members. Addressing a press conference in Dehradun today, Ambati Krishnamurthy said INTUC had always remained in the forefront in struggling for the rights of workers from the unorganised sector.

He disclosed that INTUC's general body meeting would take place at Hyderabad on May 1. He said INTUC had also asked the Congress high command to ensure that at least 15 per cent of the party ticket were given INTUC members in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Referring to Uttarakhand, Ambati Krishnamurthy said the contract system of employment must be done away with in Uttarakhand. He also favoured 70 per cent reservation for locals in company jobs. He also expressed happiness on behalf of INTUC towards the formation of the government in
state.— TNS

Dehradun, April 22
MKP Inter-College and St. Agnes emerged winners on the first day of Welham Girls' School Invitational Hockey Tournament being held on the Welham Girls' School grounds.

In the first match, MKP Inter-College beat Welham B team 6-0. Puja scored 3 goals whereas Neena scored 2 goals. Karishma also contributed 1 goal to the MKP Inter-College's tally. In the second match, St Agnes beat Scholars Home 1-0. Swati of St Agnes scored the solitary goal in the 37 minute of the match. The third match between Morvian Institute and Government Girls Inter-College Rajpur Road ended in a goalless draw.